If you read my blog often enough, you’ll know that I pay for all my products, which gives me carte blanche in how I review them.
However, I really don’t like bashing brandings, but when its necessary, I am merciless.
What am I reviewing and how much did I pay?
I am reviewing the Wishful Honey Balm Jelly Moisturiser, by Huda Kattan.
I have a full sized version that came with a Huda Beauty Mystery Bag. Such a bag contains random products chosen by the brand and on average the discount is about 65%+. Essentially I paid under US$ 20 for a moisturiser that would ordinarily cost me US$ 49.
At US$ 17, this is a strong buy. There is no doubt. But at US$ 49, would I buy this product again…
Background
I am using this product as part of my 40-day test run of a mix of products. My 40-days are not over, but the combination of these products is not working for me: a benefit of paying for your own products is I don’t need for my skin to become completely awful before I switch routines.
When did I use the balm?
I was to use the Wishful balm as part of my day routine but it kept causing my sunscreen to peel, so I switched it to my evening routine.
Aesthetics of the Honey Balm
The product smells predominantly of lavender, which is a cold weather herb. Therefore, the smell uncommon in South Asia and that’s my explanation for why I like it less than (say) jasmine. The good news is that the lavender is mild and I don’t notice the fragrance after about a minute. But in no doubt that I smell it every day when I apply the product.
What did I like about the product?
As you can see from the photos, the moisturiser has an iridescence to it and quite frankly, this is nothing short of genius. The moisturiser glides on beautifully and produces an “instant” glow that immediately makes your skin look more radiant, dewy and youthful. This effect lasts for a good 5 hours).
On this criteria alone it is well worth buying the product.
Also, this product did not cause me to break-out and it did not increase the size of my pores. So, it didn’t leave my skin in worse condition than I started (and believe it or not, its not common for this to happen).
What did I not like about this product?
You know the product is in trouble when I start to use numbers 1,2,3 etc
1) I cannot use this as a day moisturiser that sits under my sunscreen. I have tried applying this product 10 minutes, 20 minutes and 60 minutes before applying my sunscreen.
All attempts were resounding failures as my sunscreen literally kept peeling off.
If you are a regular reader you’ll know that an inability of any product to work with my sunscreen is an egregious failure.
2) I have reverted to using this as my night or evening cream: honestly, it does nothing for my skin. I care about the beautiful iridescent glow during daylight hours and not when I am about to sleep.
Importantly, I don’t wake up thinking, “wow” my skin feels very soft and moisturised because I am using this product.
3) I went for a brisk walk in the morning (so just before sunrise) and it is about 35 C. My skin felt a bit dry and I applied some of his product. This was by far, the worst thing I could have done to my skin: it is humid where I live and after about 20 minutes I felt as if my skin could not breathe – the moisturiser was claustrophobic and trying to wipe it off just made matters worse.
What’s inside the product?
The ingredients that caught my attention are Niacinamide and Turmeric Extract. As you can see from the links below, both are excellent ingredients to find in skincare. However I’ll be honest, the user experience determines whether or not I buy a product, even if it works out at US$ 17.
Would I buy this product again?
No, even if it were US$ 17 – its just not for me….
….This is a fabulous moisturiser under certain conditions – you want a glow and don’t use sunscreen. Importantly, you don’t live in humid conditions.
I also feel that this really is more appropriate for young folk, by which I mean under 35. Personally, for my skin (35+) it really is doing nothing for me.
For all the reasons above – this is never going to be on my list of go-to-moisturisers